Holiday, Florida (FL) Colleges and Universities

While there are no colleges or universities in Holiday, there are several schools located within a 20-mile radius. Read about the top schools in several categories, including most program variety and lowest costs, to find the school for you.

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School Ranking Overview

The areas around Holiday have a variety of schools for a prospective student to take into consideration. There are four-year public universities with as many as nearly 32,000 students, four-year private universities with under 1,000 students, and two-year technical colleges. This article examines just a few of these schools, and how they stack up against each other in the following categories:

Most Program Variety

Lowest Net Price

Highest Graduation Rate

Lowest Student-Faculty Ratio

Most Program Variety

Institutions that offer a large variety of programs may be of particular interest to students who have not yet chosen a profession. The three traditional schools profiled below offer the most program variety in the Holiday vicinity. They are located in Clearwater and New Port Richey.

1 - St. Petersburg College

Offering approximately 93 fields of study to its roughly 33,128 undergraduate students, St. Petersburg College in Clearwater has more program variety than any other mainstream school in the area. In addition to its Clearwater campus, the college has several campuses and educational sites in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this 4-year, public college awarded a total of 5,647 degrees and certificates in 2011-2012. NCES figures also show that during this time, associate's degrees comprised the majority of awards conferred. According to NCES, the most popular associate's degree programs were in the liberal arts and health professions. Popular bachelor degree programs included health professions, education, and business. Health professions, homeland security/law enforcement, engineering, and business were popular certificate programs.

2 - Clearwater Christian College

Clearwater Christian College is a 4-year, private, not-for-profit college with approximately 45 different programs. This small school has about 519 students, according to NCES. Even though the school offers associate's and master's degrees, the vast majority of the students received bachelor's degrees in 2011-2012, per NCES. In fact, NCES data shows that 84 of the 88 awards conferred in 2011-2012 were bachelor's degrees. The other 4 were associate's degrees. U.S. News & World Report reveals that the most popular majors among 2011 graduates were liberal arts and sciences, business, parks/recreation, and biological/biomedical sciences.

3 - Pasco-Hernando Community College

With about 42 different programs, this category's third place belongs to New Port Richey's Pasco-Hernando Community College. This 2-year, public college awards less than 1-year and between 1- and 2-year certificates in addition to associate's degrees. NCES statistics show that in 2011-2012, around 73% of the awards conferred were associate's degrees. During this time, the most popular programs were liberal arts and sciences followed by health professions. The college also offers a distance education program in education.

Lowest Net Price

In the Holiday vicinity, students looking to obtain an affordable degree from a mainstream school might consider one of the three schools below, with net prices ranging from $5,209 to $7,162. NCES determined the net prices (the total cost of attendance minus the average amount of government or institutional financial aid) for these schools based on full-time undergraduate students who began their studies in the 2011-2012 academic year.

1- Marchman Technical Education Center

Located in New Port Richey, Marchman Technical Education Center is the most affordable option in the Holiday, Florida, vicinity. According to NCES, this 2-year, public institution had an average net price of $5,209 in 2011-2012. In the 2012-2013 academic year, the school's largest program was automobile/automotive mechanics technology/technician, and NCES estimated that the total expenses for students following that program during this time were $20,358. Based on financial aid statistics published by NCES, 68% of full-time beginning undergraduate students and 66% of all undergraduate students received financial aid in 2011-2012, all in the form of grants or scholarships.

2 - Pasco-Hernando Community College

With an average net price of $5,399 in 2011-2012, this school is the second most affordable option among the area's mainstream schools. According to NCES, estimated expenses for full-time, first-time undergraduate students living off campus in 2012-2013 were $13,741 for Florida residents and $22,258 for nonresidents. NCES financial aid figures reveal that in 2010-2011, 80% of the college's full-time, beginning undergraduate students received some type of financial aid. Among all undergraduate students, the same source cites that 55% received aid from grants or scholarships, while 13% received an average of $4,909 in federal student loans.

3 - St. Petersburg College

The 2011-2012 net price for St. Petersburg College was $7,162. During this period, 86% of full-time, beginning students received some type of financial aid, per NCES. The same source reports that 59% of the school's total undergraduate population received aid from grants or scholarships, and 35% received aid in the form of federal student loans. The average loan amount was $7,725. NCES calculated that total expenses for full-time, beginning students in 2012-2013 living off campus were $20,068 for residents and $28,323 for nonresidents.

Highest Graduation Rate

The reported figures from NCES represent the overall graduation rates of full-time students who graduated in 150% of the 'normal time' it takes to complete their degree program (e.g., six years for a bachelor's degree). The mainstream schools in the Holiday area with the highest graduation rates are listed below. The figures range from a high of 97% to a low of 54%, and the top school in this category is located in Clearwater.

1 - Pinellas Technical Education Center - Clearwater

Pinellas Technical Education Center - Clearwater is a 2-year, public college with an overall graduation rate for students who began their studies in the 2008-2009 academic year of 97%. The 4-year graduation rate among students who began their studies a year earlier was 29%. Among the full-time students who began their studies in 2010, 73% returned for the start of their second year, based on NCES statistics.

2 - Marchman Technical Education Center

With an overall graduation rate of 95% among students who began their studies in 2008-2009, Marchman Technical Education Center has the second highest graduation rate in the Holiday area. Among the same group of students, NCES reports that 95% completed their studies within the 'normal time' for the program, up from the previous year's 16%. According to NCES, 91% of the full-time and 100% of the part-time students who began their studies in 2010 returned in 2011 for the start of their second year.

3 - Clearwater Christian College

NCES statistics show that Clearwater Christian College's overall graduation rate among students who began their studies in 2005 was 54%. The college's 4-year graduation rate among the same group of students was 45%. Of the full-time undergraduate students who began their studies in 2010, 67% returned for their second year.

Lowest Student-Faculty Ratio

The student-faculty ratios in Holiday-area schools range from 7:1 to 35:1. The three schools with the lowest student-faculty ratios are profiled below.

1 - Marchman Technical Education Center

NCES reports that, this institution has a student-faculty ratio of 7:1. In Fall 2012, the school had 19 full-time faculty members and only one part-timer, per NCES.

2 - Clearwater Christian College

U.S. News & World Report reveals that 73.8 % of this school's classes contain less than 20 students, and NCES reports that the college's student-faculty ratio is 13:1. The college was home to 31 full-time and 15 part-time faculty members in Fall 2012, per NCES.

3 - Pinellas Technical Education Center - Clearwater

Pinellas Technical Education Center - Clearwater has a student-faculty ratio of 16:1, according to NCES. In the fall of 2012, the institution was home to 60 full-time and 64 part-time instructional faculty members.